Report of CBS Interest in Starz Sends Lionsgate Stock Higher

Stock in Starz parent Lionsgate surged Friday following a report that CBS made an informal bid to acquire the premium channel for $5 billion, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Shares in Lionsgate rose $1.66, or 12 percent, to $15.23 after The Information website reported the interest from CBS, which apparently was rebuffed by the Hollywood studio in favor of a more generous offer for Starz,” THR reports.

Neither CBS nor Lionsgate was commenting on the news. Lionsgate acquired Starz in 2016 for $4.4 billion in cash and stock, THR notes.

“At the time, Lionsgate in a regulatory filing revealed another unnamed company (widely considered to have been CBS) made a rival bid for Starz, only to be turned down by billionaire investor John Malone, who at the time was a major shareholder in both Lionsgate and Starz,” THR adds.